1. TIPS TO BE A TOP CHESS PLAYER

In order to be a top chess player, its all about thinking beyond the 64 squares of chess. Just do not acccept chess is only about the 64 squares, chess is also about life, strategy. motif with reasoning and understanding of war and victories but in the first part is all about preparation of the mind.

Study Tony Buzan who is a proponent of the techniques of Mind Mapping and mental literacy

Part 1: Know about Mind Mapping.
Improvement of Memory
The Mind Mapping process involves a unique combination of imagery, colour and visual-spatial arrangement which is proven to significantly improve recall when compared to conventional methods of note-taking and learning by rote.

A study by Farrand, Hussain and Hennessey (2002)[6] found that Mind Mapping improved the long-term memory of factual information in medical students by 10%. They reported that “Mind Maps provide an effective study technique when applied to written material” and are likely to “encourage a deeper level of processing” for better memory formation.
Research by Toi (2009)[7] shows that Mind Mapping can help children recall words more effectively than using lists, with improvements in memory of up to 32%.
[edit] Creativity
Mind Maps really come into their own for encouraging creativity and enabling you to generate new ideas in brainstorming sessions. The spatial layout helps you gain a better overview and makes new connections more visible so you can create an infinite number of thoughts, ideas, links and associations on any topic.

Mind Mapping was selected as an effective strategy for encouraging creativity development in engineering students and was applied with encouraging results. It allowed creativity development to be introduced into the curriculum in a way that made best use of the time available (Zampetakis et al., 2007).[8]
A study by Al-Jarf (2009)[9] suggests that Mind Mapping software can improve the ability of students to generate, visualise and organise ideas. The students involved reported that the Mind Mapping tool encouraged creative thinking and they became faster at generating and organising ideas for their writing.
wikipedia
Biography at open2.net BBC/Open University.

Asia's Greatest Sports Heroes :ANAND

Vishwanathan Anand: Chess (India)
Anand doesn’t just look like a scientist, he prepares for his game like one. He has decimated former champions with the precision of a physicist dismantling an atomic bomb, blowing the likes of Kasparov, Karpov and Kramnik out of the water. World champion, grandmaster, Arjuna awardee, Chess Oscar winner, padma shri, padma bhushan, padma vibhushan and a global ambassador to the brainy sport. He may live his life in black and white, but Anand’s achievements are a brilliant rainbow on India's sports horizon.
CNNGo.com

Viswanathan Anand, (Tamil: விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த்) (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion.

Anand held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. With this win, he became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: Knockout, Tournament, and Match. He will next defend his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov, the winner of a challenger match against Gata Kamsky in February 2009.[1]

Anand is one of five players in history to break the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list. He was at the top of the world rankings five out of six times, from April 2007 to July 2008. In October 2008, he dropped out of the world top three ranking for the first time since July 1996.

In 2007 he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan. He is also the first recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honour.
Wikipedia.


On his way to winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000, Anand (White) defeated Grandmaster Viktor Bologan (Black). Here are the moves (analysis by Grandmaster Ľubomír Ftáčnik):

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 c5 15. d5 c4 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Nf5 Kh8 18. g4 Ng8 19. Qd2 Nc5 20. Be3 Bc8 21. Ng3 Rb8 22. Kg2 a5 23. a3 Ne7 24. Rh1 Ng6 25. g5! b4!? Anand has an excellent kingside attack, so Bologan seeks counterplay with the sacrifice of a pawn. 26. axb4 axb4 27. cxb4 Na6 28. Ra4 Nf4+ 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Nh5 Qb6 31. Qxf4 Nxb4 32. Bb1 Rb7 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Rd1 Na6 35. Nd4 Qxb2 36. Rg3 c3 (see diagram) 37. Nf6!! Re5 If 37...gxf6, 38. gxf6 h6 39. Rg1! Qd2! 40. Qh4 leaves white with an irresistible initiative. 38. g6! fxg6 39. Nd7 Be7 40. Nxe5 dxe5 41. Qf7 h6 42. Qe8+ 1–0 [26]

Invitation Chess Opengames

Sifu received this massage and would like to share it with chess players who like to play chess on like and get registered. Good luck.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Néstor
Date: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 7:38 AM
Subject: Invitation Chess Opengames
To: sifu.mycatur@gmail.com



Hello Al Mohamad
I commented that besides the friendly matches in the game pad www.opengames.com.ar
we started making open tournaments free online chess and other specialties, according to the complete schedule of registration for first semester 2010 and the rules of the game which are detailed on the site.
The tournament scheduled to start in January and February this year are:

Chess Retired: Registration: from 31/'01/09 to 16/01/10 - Start 18/01/10
Chess: Registration: from 21/'01/10 to 02/02/10 - Start 04/02/10

Registration has begun for the 2nd International Chess Tournament which starts Chess Retired January 18, being able to continue its development on the blog: www.ajedrezjubilado.com.ar
The platform can be covered opengames game completely and without any restriction, even can follow the games and the registration is only required to play friendly games or tournaments, which is free and requires no download or install any software.
Hoping you have fun enjoying the beautiful game of chess, I send my best wishes, wishing you many happy returns for 2010!.
Néstor

http://inquietudesliterarias.blogspot.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: Néstor
To: sifu.mycatur@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:04 AM
Subject: Invitation Chess Opengames


Hello, Al Mohamad Fia.
I have looked for your blogger of Malasia in the web, and it is a pleasure to invite you to play free chess and its variants, online, 3 or 7 days per move. The site is http://www.opengames.com.ar , it is a new tool developed in Buenos Aires and our purpose is expanding our friendly group.
I personally invite you to play in the variant Retired Chess www.ajedrezjubilado.com.ar which is an original game by our site. Its rules are the same of classical chess, but only play with pawns and king, and just rook promotion is allowed.
I hope you are interested and I would be happy if you join to our friendly group soon.
Best regards, and happiness for 2010!
Néstor Quadri

How to improve ratings ?

This question was forwarded to me recently by a budding keen and serious player so let the following be a guide:

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker of Yahoo Answers.

The best way to improve is to have a coach or study and play regularly.

Although focusing on your weaknesses always yields the best returns, all class players benefit greatly from:

1. Play serious (read tournament) games often. (Review them and learn from them, even wins can contain many mistakes) This also means avoiding rapid online games where you're actually practicing your mistakes.
2. Solve tactical puzzles.
3. Study the endgame.

Openings are near the bottom of the list. Fix any major problems but don't sit around and memorize variations -- the += you get out of all your work will be lost in the next few moves (once you're out of book) unless you're master strength.

You got good advice where Silman's reassess book was recommended. I got the book when I was 1400s and I still find the material good as a class A player. It's famous for making GM type positional thinking accessible to class players, you cant go wrong with it. If only for his idea of imbalances and how to come up with a plan. An imbalance, according to Silman's books, is any difference in position between the two sides. After recognizing the differences you work to strengthen your pluses, reduce your weaknesses and vice-versa to your opponents position. In the opening you will suddenly be learning what imbalances you're working toward creating. Although it doesn't really fit into one of the categories I listed above I'm going on about it because it's a very good book and I recommend it :)

For tactics I recommend "Sharpen Your Tactics" I also enjoyed "The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book" because it's tests didn't seem to be the standard, I see the idea so I know it works, type of puzzle. You may find the correct first move, but if you failed to find the best defense you realize the continuation you planned on playing would have lost in a real game.

For the Endgame, Silman's Complete Endgame Course (a book) is regarded well. He divides endgame knowledge into each class level giving the reader only what they need to know based on their current skill. He is very good at making what is usually dry boring endgame material enjoyable and easy to absorb. I must recommend also Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual which is highly regarded, also I enjoyed working through it.

By studying regularly you'll see improvement. Usually players will hit a plateau where it seems like they aren't improving, then suddenly they'll "jump" to the next level. Good luck :)

IS CHESS SPORTS ?

Why is chess considered a sport?

Chess is considered a mind game only aggressive and warlike in approach and tactics of a wargame played in halls for controlled tournaments and stuff, but it is not physical , where sports are supposed to be physical hence chess is just a board game, for the mind, there are plenty of other games that require thinking, but they're not considered sports. Why chess?

But Chess !

The organized competition, the fact that the game is entirely dependant upon skill, the fact that people have been known to lose 2-5 pounds after a particularly intense chess match, the fact that people who are younger and are in better shape have a physical advantage over the old and feeble because they can withstand the hours of sitting completely still in a chair for up to 5 hours while concentrating intensely, and the fact that it is very popular and is played throughout the world.

I consider it a sport myself but not everyone does. It is a contested claim at the moment.

Try playing blitz chess for some time and you be exhausted....

Of course its a sport. Probably considered an Individual Sport, like fencing or boxing or somesuch.

I do not believe it is an art-form though, as 'being art' is not its stated goal: it is a game/competition between two players. There are 'beautiful' positions/maneuvers/moves in chess that can be considered artful, and some chess sets are certainly art, but the actual game itself - the moves - is not what I would call a form of art. If chess were art all chess games would be 'artful' - with form and content - and that just is not so.

Chess requires extreme physical demands: a single game might last six
hours or more, and several such games might be played in one weekend. A study at Temple University reported that tournament chess causes physical changes similar to a comparable session of boxing or football. For these reasons, chess competitors undergo extensive physical conditioning.

Chess is a game, because the over-the-board time controls prevent it from being treated properly as a science. Postal chess allows much more serious analysis, however, and that way it is scientific, but unlike science, solving chess does not lead to any benefit for mankind.

Chess has many sport-like characteristics, because the duel-like nature, skill level, concentration, excellence and even physical conditioning are all required for olympic efforts. But because it does not rely on physical prowess, it is not considered a sport.

Finally, chess is a game because it is played as such by most, and even has a tricky psychological element players can use to their advantage, which are anathema to sport or science.

Sourced from Yahoo Answers

London Chess Classic

CHESS - 20/12/09



Diagram 1
Sunday December 20,2009
By Luke McShane

THE London Chess Classic was the strongest tournament to take place in the capital for a quarter of a century.

The unofficial world number one going into the event, 19-year-old Magnus Carlsen got off to a great start by beating his main competitor Vladimir Kramnik in the first round.

Carlsen notched up further wins against me and the Chinese player Ni Hua to take first place in the event, and secures his place at the top of the next ranking list.

Kramnik also scored three wins, but was unable to catch up with Magnus and took clear second place.

I started well by defeating Nigel Short in an eight hour 163 move marathon game, which must be my longest game ever.

But it was Michael Adams and David Howell who came top amongst the four English players. Both scored one win and six draws.



Diagram 2


A poor finish saw me finishing fifth, but I was delighted to receive the best game prize of the tournament for my victory over the American champion Hikaru Nakamura.

Interestingly, the tournament used a football style scoring system of three points for a win and one for a draw.

So the final standings were Carlsen 13, Kramnik 12, Howell and Adams 9, McShane 7, Ni Hua and Nakamura 6 and Nigel Short 5.

The event was expertly organised by Malcolm Pein, and every single game was fought to the end.

That made an excellent spectacle for the many visitors who watched in the often overflowing auditorium and packed the commentary room each day at the Kensington Olympia.

More than a million people followed the event online, and 2500 attended the event, including a dozen schools from as far afield as North Wales.

Additionally, the Chess in Schools and Communities charity has been set up to bring the game to a wider audience in the future.

There are plans afoot for a sequel next year, and even the possibility of the 2012 Fide World Championship coming to London.

Best Game Prize

Hikaru Nakamura - Luke McShane
(London, 2009)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0–0 Na6 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 Qe8 10.c5 exd4 11.Nd5 Be6!? A few years ago I lost a couple of games in this sharp variation of the King's Indian, so I wanted to try out this rare move which I hoped would bring more success. 12.Be7 Bxd5 13.Bxf8 Qxf8 13...Kxf8!? was worth serious consideration.

After 14.exd5 Nxc5 15.Nxd4 Ne3! (I hadn't seen this possibility) 16.Ne6+!? Qxe6 17.dxe6 Nxd1 18.Rfxd1 fxe6 and Black has the easier game. 14.exd5 dxc5 15.Qb3 Rb8 A very tense position has arisen. Two pawns for the exchange is enough compensation on paper, but White has time to develop some initiative and the knight on a6 is looking silly.

I hoped that I would find time to round up the d5 pawn before he created counterplay. 16.Rfe1 Qd6 16...b5 was one of my key ideas over the next few moves, but it doesn't quite work here. 17.Bxb5 c6 18.dxc6 Nc7 19.a4 a6! was the idea, winning material, but White could play 18.Qa4! instead. 17.h3 Nf6 18.Bxa6 I was slightly relieved to see this. 18.a3 was critical, calmly locking out the knight on a6.

During the game I was frantically trying to calculate the consequences of 18...b5?! (18...Bh6! looks much more prudent, taking control of g5 and c1) 19.Bxb5 c6 20.dxc6 Nc7 21.a4 a6 22.Ne5 Qf8! (22...axb5 23.Qxf7+ Kh8 24.axb5 looked terribly dangerous, and later my computer confirmed my hunch that Black is losing here) 23.Nd7 Nxd7 24.cxd7 and I was struggling to fathom this position from a distance - Black is probably doing at least okay after 24...Qd8! (but not 24...axb5 25.axb5 Nxb5? 26.Qxb5! Rxb5 27.Ra8!! Qxa8 28.Re8+ Qxe8 29.dxe8Q+ Bf8 30.Qxb5 and White wins!).

18...Qxa6 19.Rac1 19.Ne5 Qd6 20.Nc6? looks tricky but runs into a counterpunch: 20...c4! 21.Qb5 a6! and White loses material. 19...Bf8 20.Ne5 Qb6?! If I had seen the possibility of 21.d6 I might have prevented it altogether. 20...Bd6 21.Qf3 Bxe5 22.Rxe5 Qd6 looks quite promising for Black. 21.Qf3?! Creating dangerous threats on the kingside (including the immediate threat of Nxf7 followed by Re1–e6), but this is very double-edged.

21.d6! was not a move I had noticed. 21...Qxb3 22.dxc7! That's the point. 22...Rc8 23.axb3 Nd5!? When Black will pick up the c7 pawn with a balanced game. 21...Qd6 22.g4 There's no time to waste, as I was threatening Kg8-g7 followed by Qd6xd5. 22...Bh6 23.Rc2 Re8!

Deflecting White's rook from the c-file. 23...Rf8 24.Nd3 b6 25.b4! was annoying, as 25...cxb4 is met by 26.Rc6! winning the knight on f6. 24.Rce2 Rf8 Covering f7 to prepare the capture on d5. 25.Nc4 25.Rc2!? was worth considering, for a surprising reason.

After 25...Nxd5 26.Nc4 Qd8 27.Na5! White regains a pawn due to a pretty knight maneouvre: 27...b6? 28.Nc6 Qd6 29.Qxd5! Qxd5 30.Ne7+ Kg7 31.Nxd5. 25...Qxd5 A triumph - finally the pawn drops off! 26.Qxf6 Bg7! An important intermezzo. After 26...Qxc4 27.Re8 White seeks counterplay by Qf6-d8 followed by Re8xf8 and Re1–e8. 27...Qd5 28.Rxf8+ Bxf8 29.Re8 threatens Qf6-e7, and after 29...Qd6 30.Qxd6 cxd6 31.Ra8 the pawn harvest begins. 27.Qh4?! 27.Qf4 Qxc4 28.Re8 was better, I thought.

From f4 the c7 pawn comes under attack and the d-pawn is temporarily pinned. 28...Qd5 29.Qxc7 d3 should still be promising for Black. 27...Qxc4 28.Re8 Qd5 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Re8 Kg7 31.g5 Or 31.Qd8 Qxd8 32.Rxd8 a5. In the very worst case I saw that Bf8-d6 and b7-b6 would protect all the pawns, so all the winning chances are with Black. 31...Qd6 32.Kf1 32.Qh6+ Kg8 just leads to a dead end. 32...b5 The game of Space Invaders begins. 33.Ke1 c4 34.Qe4 c5 35.h4!?

With the clock running down, I thought this was connected with the obscure idea of h4-h5 and f2-f4-f5-f6+, but the simpler idea is Qe4-f3-f6+. The immediate 35.Qf3 was well met by Be7, hitting the g5 pawn. 35.f4!? preparing to recapture on e5 with the pawn, was also interesting. 35...c3 36.bxc3 dxc3 37.Qe5+ Qxe5+ 38.Rxe5 a5 39.Kd1 39.Re8 a4 40.Ra8 might have been tougher but neither side had much time to think before move forty. 39...a4 40.a3!? b4 41.Kc2 Having made the time control I had a very long think. 41...f5 and 41...h5 both came to mind, but I settled on 41...h6!

Softening up the g5 square gives the bishop more scope sometimes, but this move comes with a more subtle idea as well. 42.Rd5? (see diagram 1) Apparently the losing move. 42.Re8 was better, and then I couldn't see a win for Black. 42...hxg5 43.hxg5 Bd6 44.Ra8 b3+ 45.Kxc3 Be5+ 46.Kd2 (46.Kd3? c4+! 47.Kxc4 b2 wins as b8 is covered by the bishop) 46...c4 47.Rxa4 c3+ 48.Kc1 Bd6 49.Kb1 and now White threatens Ra4-c4, so Black has to take a draw with 49...c2+ 50.Kb2 Be5+ 51.Kc1 Bd6 when neither side can make progress.

42...hxg5 43.hxg5 Kh7! The hidden idea behind 41...h6! 44.Rd7?! 44.axb4 cxb4 45.Rb5 keeps chances alive for White by forestalling Bf8-g7, but the pawns are very strong.(45.Ra5? meets with a pretty refutation though: 45...b3+ 46.Kxc3 Bb4+! 47.Kxb4 b2 and the pawn promotes) 44...Bg7! 45.Rxf7 b3+ 46.Kb1 46.Kc1 Kg8 47.Ra7 Bd4 48.Rxa4 Kf7! is winning in the same way as the game. 46...Kg8

The knowledge that any slip could even mean losing the game kept me on my toes. The other idea I looked at was 46...c4?? 47.Ra7 c2+ 48.Kc1 c3 49.Rxa4 Bf8 and I thought that with the rook tied down I could play Bf8x-c5xf2, and eventually threaten mate on both a3 and e3. Unfortunately, 50.Rb4! and after 50...Bxb4 51.axb4 there isn't time to catch the nimble passed pawn. 47.Ra7 Bd4! 48.Rxa4 Kf7! With the support of the king one of the pawns can be forced home. 48...Bxf2 was too slow.

After 49.Rc4! Black is in serious danger, but may be able to salvage a draw with 49...Bd4 50.a4 c2+ (50...Kf7? 51.a5 Ke6 52.a6 Kd5 53.Rxd4+ and White promotes in time) 51.Kc1 Be3+ 52.Kb2 Bd2! 53.Rxc5 Kf7 54.a5 c1=Q+ 55.Rxc1 Bxa5 56.Kxb3 Bd2 and the weak g5 pawn makes it hard to progress. 49.Ra6 49.Rxd4 cxd4 50.a4 d3 and the king can't hold up all three pawns any more. 49...Be5! Preparing c3-c2+ and Be5-f4+ so the rook must retreat. 50.Ra4 Ke6 51.Rh4 Kd5 52.a4 c4 53.Rh1 c2+ 54.Kc1 c3 55.Rh4 Bd6 (see diagram 2) A pretty finish. Mate follows on a3.

0–1

NR REFLEX AT MYDIN SUBANG Jaya

Norhayati (in Brown shirt) at OKU Day 2009

This beautiful lady is one tough gentle person, Sifu knew her in early part of Paralimpic Korat preparations, she was in the judo team to Korat 2008(yes judo so do not mess up with her) but her beauty was an attraction but her smile was the beauty and the energy behind her. Just listen to her laughs, but get to know this lass and Sifu been trying to get her hook up with chess but at present she is in congkak.



Her name is Norhayati and she is blind in B1 category. She became blind while studying Sports Science in UiTM but blindness could not stop this beautiful lady from being a useful person and be able to stand and move about independently.

She became a reflexology instructor at Malaysian Association of Blind Training centre to help and motivate other blind persons to be able to earn a living by becoming a reflexologist.

Now she have open a reflex centre at Mydin Wholesale Subang Jaya on the 1st. Floor named NR REFLEX. If you need to reflex or massage your legs, body and hands go to NR REFLEX at Mydin Subang and support Norhayati. Her smile and beauty will helps to give you an wonderful massage. This beautiful B1 lady needs your support.